The spatial dimensions of migrant politics: to the border and beyond
2025-05-13
This Special Issue examines the interplay between physical space and sociopolitical forces in shaping migrant politics, emphasizing the role of borders as both mechanisms of control and sites of resistance. Moving beyond static geographical boundaries, we conceptualize borders through bordering practices that restrict access to territories, resources, and rights via formal and informal governance mechanisms. These include laws, policies, exclusion zones, and detention systems that create hierarchies between migrants and citizens. While acknowledging these restrictive forces, we argue for a more nuanced understanding of the border that recognizes both migrant agency and political subjectivity in these contested spaces. By bridging critical border studies and migrant politics literature, this Special Issue highlights how migrants challenge state power, despite efforts to immobilize and exclude them. Ultimately, we contend that the border is a deeply political space where struggles over mobility shape both migrant activism and state control.